Best max game improvement driver 2009

Best for Mid Handicappers: Mizuno is making waves in both the game improvement and max game improvement areas. The new JPXs qualify as the best max game-improvement irons this season, thanks to a low center of gravity, superb trajectory control and excellent distance. The clubs are completely predictable on just about every hit. The off-center hits still maintain excellent distance, a huge max game-improvement plus.

Best for Low-Trajectory Hitters: Like the Idea Tech clubs, these lightweight clubs will help those with lower clubhead speeds and provide higher trajectories for those who have trouble getting it up, especially when the lie of the ball is challenging. The CG Blacks also reduce ball sidespin, thereby cutting down on slices. Best for Improving the Draw: The Fly-Z XL is an iron that will help you seriously improve your draw shot, allowing you to shape that all-important swing and nail high distance shots with consistent yardage.

The swing is easy to manage thanks to a heavy clubhead and lower center of gravity, and the club provides good feedback even on off hits. Trajectory is high, so be mindful of the finesse needed for low hits.

You want mishits to still retain most of the power of a center-face bomb? You want lots of adjustability to tweak ball flight and direction? No problem—weights in some cases move in infinite degrees front and back, left and right, up and down.

You say your slice is so bad that bananas give you the willies? Not sure the new drivers will make that much difference? We get it. Take that old driver of yours to a great fitter with a launch monitor and get totally dialed in. Click here to shop the Hot List-winning drivers at Golf Galaxy. The Epic Flash has this technology, plus a face designed using artificial intelligence: Thousands of virtual prototypes—impossible to conceive with traditional methods—created a face whose back under magnification is rippled like an Olympics moguls run.

The benefit is more ball speed across the meat of the face. Loft : Epic Flash 9, Cobra King F9 Speedback. Story: The problem with an aerodynamic shape is, well, the shape. Sure, it helps the club slide through the air, but it often places too much weight high in the clubhead, resulting in increased ball spin and less distance. However, instead of compromising on spin, Cobra stretched its lightweight carbon-composite crown around the edges.

Light material on top means more heavy material low and deep, including a gram weight in the sole that can be switched from back to front to lower spin even more. The ST features a steel weight deep in the sole to improve launch and stability on mis-hits.

The lower-spinning STG has parallel sliding weight tracks to better control spin and ball flight. Story : Driver designers love carbon-fiber crowns. The lightweight material allows a low center of gravity and more stability on off-center hits.

But the team at PXG wanted more, so it selectively raised and thickened its carbon-fiber crown. The goal is to stiffen the structure and redirect energy back to the flexing face for distance.

There are two options: The adjustable and compact X has nine sole weights to optimize trajectory. It also emphasizes low spin and high speed for better players.

This means your mis-hits will be nearly indistinguishable from your center strikes. This allows the Plus model to have a gram weight that seamlessly fits into draw, neutral and fade positions in the rear perimeter. On the lighter, slice-fighting SFT model, extra mass moves to the heel to help you square the face at impact. This strength allows the face to be designed thinner so it can flex more for maximum ball speed.

Both models here feature a cupface design in which the face extends around the crown and sole. This is a shock absorber that makes a difference. More distance than most. This club might change that. Plenty of tech has been crammed into a conventional-looking clubhead.

The color-coded hosel markings to help in fitting are a nice touch. NOTPurists might have an issue with the blocky-looking short irons. The sole has been narrowed and redesigned for greater versatility, and the CG has been lowered and pushed back to improve forgiveness. Good forgiveness and feel for a simple-looking club. I didn't care for the offset, but boy could you thread some needles with this club. The Nippon NS H shaft at grams is a nice choice for stock-steel offering. NOTThe narrow sole might make things tougher for the chopper.

A pocket in the rear cavity allows for the repositioning of 30 grams of weight in long irons and 20 grams in middle irons. The pocket is replaced by a solid bar in the short irons for better feel. Modified U-grooves are designed to control spin. What else would you expect from Mizuno? This has a nice, controlled ball flight that would serve the low- to mid-handicapper well. I didn't want to put this one down. Everything about it made me feel like I could hit a good shot.

The X-back cavity pad is an engineering first for a forged club and reinforces the face area, allowing this iron to exude effortless power and control. NOTIt's not the most forgiving club on our list. Slower swingers should beware. The variable sole width narrows from long irons to short irons to improve turf interaction.

The sound is better, too. It's more pure and less clinky. It doesn't allow me to work the ball much, but it's very solid. A forgiving club, but the protruding piece in back is too much of a reminder that I'm a hacker. The coloring in the back cavity is snazzy and contemporary. Woods plays, but it's in the manufacturing of clubs to help average players that the company really shines.

This latest version of the Slingshot does nothing to detract from that heritage. NOTThis iron might appeal to a bigger audience, but it lacks the wider sole and deeper cavity that made the original one of our favorites.